Leap Year Review: Formulaic And Painful

It’s January – and you know what that means for movies. Usually this time of year we see an onslaught of horror movies or parody films that you absolutely cannot believe someone agreed to be involved with – much less produce. ‘Leap Year’ may confuse you, as it’s being released about a month before all the women will drag their significant others to the cinemas to see cheesy films that will make them want to pull their hair out. But us girls love a good romantic comedy, don’t we? Sadly, I wouldn’t classify ‘Leap Year’ as good or as a comedy. Sure it’s supposed to be funny, but my god is some of it painful. I contemplated getting up and leaving the screening at several points, and rarely do I feel compelled to do that.

The film tells the story of Boston gal Anna Brady (Amy Adams) who has been waiting very patiently for Jeremy (Adam Scott) – her boyfriend – to propose to her. On the eve of his departure for a cardiology convention in Dublin, Jeremy leaves Anna with a pair of earrings – not exactly the jewelry item she had been anticipating. After little thought, Anna decides she’s going to Dublin to propose to Jeremy on February 29th. This act is apparently a tradition in Anna’s family as it’s how her grandmother proposed to her grandfather.

However, once Anna embarks on her trip – everything goes wrong. The weather knows what’s good for her and leads her to a middle of nowhere bar with a charming one-stop-shop bartender named Declan (Matthew Goode) who serves as the eye candy for the film. Being in need of cash, Declan agrees to get Anna to Dublin. Even more things go wrong, and you can guess what happens next. Yep, Declan somehow falls for Anna and reminds her of the more important things in life.

As soon as the film ended, I looked over at my date and joked that surely this had to be the director’s first film (as there were scenes begging to be cut throughout – especially the last scene which was basically a second ending to a film you thought would never end). However, it’s Anand Tucker’s fourth film for directing. His first being ‘Shopgirl’, a film I thoroughly enjoyed. Directing aside, the writing was also absolutely nauseating. Is Amy Adams this desperate for work that this seemed like a good idea to her?

The failed attempts at cute humor left an awkward silence throughout the mostly full screening I attended. I sat there watching as people trickled out of the theater around me wondering what could have fixed this film. Obviously, scenes needed to be cut – and other scenes needed to be re-written and infused with some witty dialogue and a more respectable banter between the two leads. Kudos to the crew responsible for the location scouting and the music in the film, they were literally the only elements of the film that kept me in my seat.

While I haven’t yet seen any of the other films coming out this weekend, I would venture to say they’re all better than this one. Sorry gals – you might just enjoy ‘Daybreakers’ more. And that’s harsh.